Carl Bildt: In defence of globalization

World Economic Forum

I must confess that I am a firm believer in the benefits of globalization. To my mind, the gradual interlinking of regions, countries, and people is the most profoundly positive development of our time.

But a populist has now assumed the United States presidency by campaigning on a platform of stark economic nationalism and protectionism. And in many countries, public discourse is dominated by talk of globalization’s alleged “losers,” and the perceived need for new policies to stem the rise of populist discontent.

When I was born, the world’s population was 2.5 billion. I vividly recall a time in my life when many people feared that starvation would soon run rampant, gaps between the rich and poor would grow ever wider, and everything would eventually come crashing down.

BRICs Are No Cure for Global Economic Growth This Time

Bloomberg

By Michael Patterson and Simon Kennedy - Sep 1, 2011 8:39 AM GMT+0300

Stocks of international companies that depend most on emerging markets for sales show developing nations won’t be strong enough to buoy the global economy.

Emerging vs developed economies

Power shift

Aug 4th 2011, 17:34 by The Economist online

The emerging world begins to seize the lion's share of global markets

REAL GDP in most rich economies is still below its level at the end of 2007. In contrast, emerging economies’ output has jumped by almost 20% over the same period. The rich world’s woes have clearly hastened the shift in global economic power towards the emerging markets. But exactly how big are emerging economies compared with the old developed world? This chart looks at a wide range of indicators: